This invention relates generally to reinforcing elements and cables for elastomeric articles such as tires, hoses and belts, and more particularly to pneumatic tires and other elastomeric articles reinforced with such metallic reinforcing elements.
Metallic cables used for reinforcing elastomeric cables have commonly had circular, or substantially circular, cross sections. The use of stacked flat wires, for example in the belt structure of a pneumatic truck tire, enables a reduction in thickness without a significant reduction in stiffness and fatigue performance. However, the spacing, between reinforcing elements is the limiting factor in substituting flat wire cables for round cables, because there must be sufficient elastomeric material between adjacent reinforcing elements to prevent them from abrading against one another.
There is provided in accordance with an aspect of the invention a reinforcing element for an elastomeric article comprising a plurality of elongated metallic members having substantially rectangular cross sections, the longitudinal axes of said elongated metallic members being parallel to one another, a wide side of each said elongated metallic member being contiguous with a wide side of another of said elongated metallic members, the ratio of width to thickness of each said elongated metallic member being at least 2 to 1 but no greater than 10 to 1, and a wrap member helically disposed around said elongated metallic members such that each turn of said wrap member is spaced apart from the next adjacent turns of said wrap member.
There is provided in accordance with another aspect of the invention an elastomeric article comprising a plurality of reinforcing elements embedded in an elastomeric substance, each reinforcing element comprising a plurality of elongated metallic members having substantially rectangular cross sections, the longitudinal axes of said elongated metallic members being parallel to one another, a wide side of each said elongated metallic member being continguous with a wide side of another of said elongated metallic members, the ratio of width to thickness of each said elongated metallic member being at least 2 to 1, but no greater than 10 to 1, and a wrap member helically disposed around said elongated metallic members such that each turn of said wrap member is spaced apart from the next adjacent turns of said wrap member.